HTC announces job cuts amid pressure from Xiaomi, Apple

HTC said Thursday that it will cut jobs and discontinue some of its models in order to compete with market leaders like Apple and Samsung in high-end devices.

This is due to significant losses in market share for the Taiwanese company during this year’s second quarter.

In 2015, HTC shares have fallen 51 percent.

“The cuts will be across the board,” HTC Chief Financial Officer Chialin Chang told Reuters. “They will be significant.”

While he did not specify how many jobs will be cut, Chang did say that the cost reductions will continue into the first quarter of 2016 but declined to comment further. The company also forecast preliminary losses for this year’s third quarter.

HTC is feeling the pressure as Huawei recently replaced Microsoft as the global No. 3 phone maker and the Taiwanese company has also been undercut by mega-funded Chinese startup Xiaomi in the budget sector.

The company said it will streamline is product portfolio and focus on flagship devices that can compete with the likes of Apple’s iPhone 6 or Samsung’s Galaxy S6.